WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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Discussions continue tonight about the proposed annexation of nearly 10,000 acres of Monroe County land into the city of Bloomington. Another public meeting is scheduled for people to learn more and speak with city officials. It runs from six to eight in the Council Chambers at City Hall. It is the second of six sessions meant to clarify the details of the seven proposed annexation areas. These meetings come amid growing concerns from residents who would like their homes to remain outside city limits. The most publicized concerns are in areas one, six, and seven. Area one would add to the south-west side of the city. Area six is just northeast of Bloomington. Area seven is north of the city. Petitions are circulating around these areas with signatures of concerned residents calling for No Annexation. Dave Lehman started an anti-annexation group in area seven with his wife and another resident. Lehman says their biggest opposition is connected to the increase in taxes.
“The main reason is the increase in taxes, and the best I can see it, we aren’t going to receive any services that are going to make up for all the increases in taxes.”
At the public meetings, residents in the annexation areas can ask for estimates of their individual tax increases. But Dave says he and his neighbors are concerned about more than money.
“We’re in the rural part of the area, and we want to stay that way. We don’t want trails. That’s another big thing. We don’t want extra trails to bring extra crime in our area, because there’s no crime up here. There’s nobody up here.”
Philippa Guthrie is the City of Bloomington’s Corporation Counsel. She says these annexations would strengthen the community as a whole.
“The primary benefit is to create one community. If you look at the way Bloomington has developed, there are areas that are developed around the fringes. We’ve heard a lot of people saying ‘Well, it’s not really developed. I can see trees, and I’ve got a big piece of land and farmland.’ But in a legal sense, it is developed. The city believes that it’s better to have one community with one direction forward, rather than having it split up like, say, Lafayette/West Lafayette, where you have the potential for other cities to develop around the fringes.
Residents in the annexation areas have asked why such a large proposal is happening now. Guthrie says it is necessary after over a decade without annexations to the city. For more information about the annexation plan, including the seven areas, you can visit Bloomington dot IN dot gov slash Annex. You will also find dates and times for the public information meetings like the one starting tonight at six.
